Sustainability & Risk / Waste/ Waste - Background Data

Define Waste Methods

As you work through the Waste application, you will want to categorize the methods by which you manage waste; that is, do you treat, recycle, recover, or dispose of it? What exact methods do you follow to do this? Use this task to develop a two-level category system: Waste Management Group (the overall category) and Waste Management Code (a specific classification within each category).

If you are following specific conventions or regulations, you may want to name your groups and codes according to the conventions governing your site. For example, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes "The Hazardous Waste Report Instructions and Forms" document which includes a list of Management Method Codes to describe the type of management system used to treat, recover, or dispose of a waste, such as code H135 for discharging to the sewer system and code H040 for incineration. The data in the sample HQ database reflects these types of EPA codes, but you can enter methods defined by any regulatory agency.

When you document how a particular instance of waste is to be shipped, you will include the codes developed with this task to specify how the waste will be managed so that the appropriate waste management method can be included on the Waste Manifest that accompanies the waste once it leaves your site.

Waste Management Method Groups

Waste Management Method Groups are categories for the specific management methods. If you examine the sample HQ data, you will see that the groups reflect EPA definitions, such as the Management Method Group Descriptions of “Reclamation and Recovery” and "Transfer off Site."

The values for Management Method Group Code, such as 01-RR, include numeric prefixes to force the groups to appear in Archibus lists in the same order as they do for the EPA’s form. Without the numbers, Archibus lists would sort them in alphabetical order.

Waste Management Method Codes

Again, note that the values in the sample HQ database reflect the numbering system used by EPA.

To enter a Waste Management Method Code, select a Waste Management Group or use the Add New button to first define a Waste Management Group, and then create Waste Management Codes within this group.

Code	Description
Management Method Code	Enter a value that uniquely identifies the management method and that you will recognize when choosing this value from a list of management methods. If you are following regulatory guidelines, you can define your management methods based on these codes. See the sample HQ data, which uses the EPA numbering system.
Management Method	Enter a description of this management method.
Management Method Group	The system automatically completes this with the Management Method Group that you selected in the left pane. If you wish to change this group, select a new group from the list available from the ellipses button.